Probate & Trust Law Section Conference Manual ... - Minnesota CLE

Southwest blog. The death of an employee is a non-event, as far as these
digital assets are concerned.
iii. The client should be careful to select digital asset providers (such as blog
hosting and social media accounts) that allow the digital asset to be owned
by an entity such as a LLC.
iv. If the client operates/owns a business, ensure that all digital assets used in
connection with the business are owned by the business entity. Many
start-up companies initially place their digital assets in the name of one or
more founding owners. As the company grows, it is crucial to transfer
ownership/use of the digital asset to the company itself.
v. If the client’s promotes his business via social media, the attorney can help
to ensure the social media account is titled in the name of the business and
not the name of the client.
vi. An individual social networking profile can usually be turned into a
business page upon request.
vii. If client is a professional athlete, celebrity or public figure who uses social
media for endorsements and publicity, the client’s management company
should own social media account (if possible).
viii. Otherwise, social media activity can be transferred to company or estate
page following death.
ix. For example, Dick Clark’s Facebook account has been de-activated and
turned into a memorial. However, Dick Clark Productions has an active
Facebook “fan” page providing PR to several charities and businesses.
x. The terms of service of most digital asset providers that do allow digital
assets to be owned by an entity would seemingly also allow such digital
assets to be owned by a trust.
1. For example, the terms of service of Twitter do not appear to
prohibit a revocable trust from holding a twitter account.
2. However, because holding digital assets in a trust is not common,
it is uncertain how digital assets providers would treat such
ownership.
3. Accordingly, digital assets with substantial value should be placed
into a business entity such as an LLC.
d. The appropriate planning method to preserve digital assets in the event of death or
disability depends on the complexity of the client’s digital assets, his
technological fluency and his trust of online resources. As with all estate
planning, one size does not fit all.
e. Some clients should consider an online storage account and/or a secure list of
digital assets and passwords. See Exhibit A for a sample of how to prompt a
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